Meat-slitting machine



Nov. 7, 1939. J. P. SPANG MEAT-SLITTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 16,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnvenTor. Uoseph PSpcm AYTyS.

Nov. 7, 1939.. J. P. SPANG MEAT-SLITTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 16,1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvenTor. Uoseph F. Sprung byw AHys.

Nov. 7, 1939.

J. P. SPANG MEAT-SLITTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 4 Sheets-Sheet 3lnvenror. Uoseph P spun bymdw AT TyS,

Nov. 7, 1939.

MEAT-SLITTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 16, 1956 4 SheetsSheet 4InvenTor.

\Joseph F! Spcmg m WQW ATTys- J. P. SPANG 2,179,025

" ing plate;

Patented Nov. 7 1939 UNITED STATE watts MEATSLITTING- MACI'IINE JosephP. Spang, Quincy, Mass.

' Application December 16, 1936, Serial'No. 116,130

. Renewed May 8, 1939 g 5 Claims.

proved meat-slittingmachine of this type which.

is simple in its construction and inexpensive to manufacture and whichis efficient and rapid in operation.

- In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustratedin the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now bedescribed after which the novel features will be pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawings; Fig. 1 is an end view of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the-line 22, Fig. 5; Fig. 3 is a section on theline 33, Fig. 5; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 isa side view of the machine with parts broken out;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6, Fig. 5; Fig. '7 is a perspectiveview of the meat-support- Fig. 8 is a view showing a differentembodiment of the invention; I

Fig. 9 is a section, with parts line 9-9, Fig. 8. v

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section showing a different embodiment oftheinvention.

broken out, on the The machine comprises a suitable frame indicatedgenerally at I and comprising two end mem, bers Z and 3 which are shownas'connected at their vupper ends by a cross rail 4, said .end members 2and 3 each having an inwardly-extending flange 5 to which the ends ofthe connecting cross rail 4 are connected by means of clamping bolts 6.

Rotatably supported by the end members '2 and 3 of the frame is a set ofrotary slitting knives I, said knives being mounted upon ashaft 38 whichis rotatably mounted in bearings 39 carried by the frame members 2 and3. I'hese knives are spaced from each other as usual in meat-slittingmachines, and means hereinafter described are provided for rapidlyrotating the knives for performing the meat-slitting operation.

As stated above this meat-slittingmachine is of that type in which thesliceofmeat tobe slit,

a machine embodying and .which is indicated at 8, is carried by ameatsupporting plated which is separable from the frame i but is adaptedto be introduced into the machine at one side and tobe fed past theknives from one side thereof to the other, during which feeding movementthe knives cut the slits in the meat, and then to be discharged from themachine at the opposite side thereof. This meat-supporting plate 9 isguided in its movement past the knives by means of a guiding memberindicated generally. at Ill and which comprises two angleiron side railsi l which are connected at each end by a cross bar H2. Themeat-supporting plate 9 rests on and is supported by the horizontal legsl3 of the angle-iron members H, and the vertical legs M ofsaidangle-iron members serve to prevent lateral movement of the plate duringits forward feeding movement.

The meat-supporting plate 9 with the uns lit slice of meat 8 thereon isintroduced into the guiding member 10 at one side of the knives, asshown in full lines in'Fig. 4;, and then is fed along the guiding memberpast the knives and is discharged from the machine on-the other side ofthe knives as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 4. The passage of the plate9 with its slice of meat 8 past the knives will result in a plurality ofparallel slits being cut in the meat. After the plate has been given onepass beneath the knives and has been discharged from the machine, thenit may be introduced into the machine again in a position so that theslits which were cut in the meat by the first pass of the plate throughthe machine extend at 'rightangles to the direction of movement, withthe result that during the second pass through the machine the secondseries of slits will be cut at right angles to the first series. It willbe noted that the meat-supporting plate 9 is rectangular in shape withsides of equal length so that it can be fed through the machine with anyone of the sides in the lead. As the plate is thus being fed through themachine the sides thereof which are parallel to the direction ofmovement cooperate with the vertical legs E2 of the angleiron members Il to prevent the plate from turning so that straight slits'will-be cutin the meat.

As stated above the knives l are positively and rapidly rotated, and thepresent invention em bodies a novel means for controlling the feedingmovement of the meat-supportingplate 9 through the machine so that itwill be restrained from having too rapid a movement due to the frictionbetween the rapidly rotating knives and the meat andwhich will give saidplate a feeding movement at such a speed that the knives will slit themeat with a slicing or draw out.

The feeding means herein shown for feeding the meat-supporting platethrough the machine comprises a feed roll or rolls acting on the underside of the plate and means for holding the plate in frictional contactwith the feed roll or rolls. The feed roll or rolls are carried androtated by a feed shaft l6 which is journalled in the end members 2 and3 of the frame and may be driven in any suitable way as by means of acrank handle i9 which is fast on one end thereof.

This feeding device may take the form of two separate feed rolls l5mounted on said shaft 53 and each adapted to engage the plate at theedge portion thereof, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, or it may take theform of a single roll Ilia. extending the full width of the plate asshown in Fig. 10. The feed roll or rolls l5 or [5a, are positivelydriven by means of the crank l9 and they may be made of any material,such as rubber, which will afford a proper frictional engagement withthe meat-supporting plate 9.

For holding the plate in frictional engagement with the feed roll orrolls, I have shown two presser rolls !1, one at each side of theguiding member ill and which are adapted to engage the top surface ofthe plate 9 at its opposite edges. The horizontal leg 53 of eachangle-iron member H is cut away as shown at i8 to receive the feed roll,and I will preferably make the feed roll of.

' will be distorted slightly, thereby providing a sufficient frictionalgrip on the plate so that the movement of the latter through the machinewill be controlled by said feed rolls.

When the meat is being acted on by the rapidly rotating knives thefriction between the knives and the meat tends to pull the meat and theplate forwardly. The feed roll or rolls herein shown serve to controlthe forward feeding movement of the plate and if the action of theknives on the meat tends to feed the plate forward too rapidly the feedrolls provide a retarding force which resists this tendency. On theother hand, if the friction of the knives on the meat does not providesufiicient pulling or feeding force to feed the meat forwardly thefrictional engagement of the feed roll or rolls with the plate serves toproduce the proper feeding movement of the plate. In either case thefeed roll or rolls will control the feeding movement of the platethrough the machine and will determine the speed at which it moves sothat this speed will be the proper speed to insure that the knives acton the meat with the desired slicing or draw cut.

29 indicates. a stripper device in the form of yielding fingers thatextend between the knives 7 and serve to prevent the meat from beinglifted from the plate by the rotary movement of the slitting knives I.The stripper fingers are carried by a suitable supporting head 21.

I have stated that the knives i were positively driven, and while thismay be accomplished in any approved way, yet I have herein shown adriving connection between the knife shaft 38 and the feed roll shaft l6by which rotation of the shaft I5 is conveyed to'the knife shaft 38. Thefeed shaft 16 is shown as having a gear 22 thereon which meshes with agear 23 fast on the knife shaft 38.

The speed of feeding movement of the plate 9 is determined by the sizeof the feed rolls l5 and the speed of rotation of the feed shaft H5. Thegear 22 is considerably larger than the feed rolls i5 and is shown asthe same size as the gear 23. The knives T are shown as having a greaterdiameter than the gear 23, and as a result of this construction theperipheral speed of the knives T will be very much greater than that ofthe feed rolls l5, and as the feeding movement of the plate 9 isgoverned by the surface speed of the feed rolls i5 it follows that thecutting edges of the knives will be moving very'much faster than themeat so that the knives will cut the meat with a slicing cut.

The machine herein shown is provided with means by which the depth ofthe slits cut in the meat can be varied, and for this purpose theguiding member It is mounted so that it can be adjusted toward and fromthe knives 1, thereby placing the meat-supporting surface of the plate 9closer to or farther from the edge of the knives l as the plate movespast the knives.

Each angle iron member ll of the guide 10 is secured to a plate 25 whichis mounted on the shaft it for turning movement thereabout, the'endportions 25 of said shaft Hi which extend through the plates 24 beingcylindrical so that said end portions 25 provide a pivotal support forthe guide It. The portions of the shaft on which the feed rolls l 5 aremounted are shown as non-circular.

Each presser roll H is loosely mounted on a stud 26 which is anchored inthe upper portion of the corresponding plate 24, and as the plate 25 andthe guide Ell are rigid with each other the fixed relation between thepresser rolls and the feed rolls is not disturbed by any turningmovement of the guide about its pivotal support.

A turning movement of the guide it] .clockwise about its pivotal supportinto the dotted line position Fig. 5 will move the horizontalplate-supporting legs E3 of theguide Hi away fromthe knives, while aturning movement of the guide in the opposite direction will move saidplatesupporting legs toward the'knives, and hence by adjusting the guideit into different positions about its pivotal support the slits in themeat can be cut to any desired depth.

I have provided herein means for securing the guide IE3 in any adjustedposition. For this purpose one of the angle-iron members H has athreaded stud 21 projecting therefrom which extends through a slot 28 inthe end member 2. Mounted on this projection is a spacing sleeve 29which fits between the angle-iron member H and the inner face of the endmember 2. 'The projecting end of the stud 2'! has a clamping nut 3tthereon so that by tightening the nut 36 the guide ill will be held inany adjusted position.

In using the device the guide it will be adjusted into the correctposition to produce slits in the meat of the desired depth, and theplate9 having a slice 8 of meat thereon is then introduced into the guide Itat one side of the machine as shown in full lines, Fig. 1, and the plateis manually moved along the guide until it is gripped by the feed rollsi5 and presser rolls l1. As soon as this occurs the feed rolls serve tofeed the plate forward and as it passes beneath the -knives-l -thelatter cut'the 'slits in the meat. The-feed rolls-are operated until the-plate has beenvdischarged therefrom; and the plate is then removed fromthe lower end of the I guide iii). If 'itiis desired to cut in the meata second series of. slits extending at right angles to those which werecut by the' first pass-of the plate through thepmachine, then the plate9 withits slice of meatr8 thereon is again fed through the machine butin the second feeding movement it is placed inthefiguide with'theslitsin the meat extending at right angles to the feeding movement.

When the meat is fed through the second time the knives will cut slitstherein which cross the slits made during the first pass of the meatthrough the machine.

If desired the plate 9 may have pins or projections 34 rising therefromwhich serve to retain the meat thereon and prevent the meat from beingpulled off from the plate by rapidly moving knives.

3| indicates a cover which partially encloses and protects the knives l.The cover is provided with apertures through which extend extensions 32of the clamping bolts 6 and the cover is held in place by clamping nuts33 screwed to the extensions 32.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown a different embodiment of the invention inwhich the knives 7 are power driven from a motor after the mannerillustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 91,676, filed July21, 1936.

Referring to Fig. 8, 35 indicates the motor which is connected by adriving belt 36 to a pulley 31 on the knife shaft. The knife shaft 38and feed shaft H are connected by intermeshing gears 22, 23 as in theother embodiments of the invention.

In the construction shown in Fig. 8 the feed shaft i6 is driven from theknife shaft, while in the construction shown in Figs. 1-7 the power isThe two angle-iron members H are shown as connected by a cross piece 4|!having a downwardly offset central portion to which is secured afollower 4! operating in a cam groove 42 formed in a cam 83 which ispivoted to the frame of the machine at 44. This cam has a handle or arm45 by which it may be adjusted. The turning of the cam counter-clockwisein Fig. 9 will serve to elevate the left-hand end of theplate-supporting guide iii and to lower the right-hand end therebyincreasing the space between the guide and the knives which will resultin reducing the depth of the slits cut in the meat, On the other hand aturning movement of a cam in a clockwise direction will lower theleft-hand end of the guide IE] and raise the right-hand end, thusreducing the space between the guide and the knives and increasing thedepth of the slits which are cut in the meat.

The follower 4| is shown as an angular-shaped element, the vertical arm45 of which extends through the cross member All and is anchored thereinby means of clamping nuts 41. The horizontal arm of the follower extendsthrough and cooperates with the cam slot 42.

The adjusting cam shown in Figs. 8 and 9 not only provides means foradjusting the plate-supporting guide [I] vertically but it also servesto thereon, means to rotate the knives, a meat-supporting plateseparable from the frame and on which the slice of meat to be slit issupported, a feed roll having a shaft, rotatably mounted in the frame, aplate-supporting member carried by said shaft and adapted to receive theplate on one side of the knives and over which the plate may slidecompletely past the knives to the other side of the machine where it isdischarged therefrom, said feed roll contacting with and controlling thefeeding movement of the plate, and means to rotate the feed roll at aslower surface speed than the peripheral speed of the knives whereby theknives will act on the meat with a draw out.

2. A meat-slittingmachine comprising a frame, a set of rotary slittingknives rotatably mounted thereon, means to rotate said knives, ameatsupporting plate separable from the frame and on which the slice ofmeat is supported, a feed roll having a shaft, rotatably mounted in theframe, a plate-supporting member carried by said shaft and adjustableinto different angular positions about the axis thereof, saidplate-supporting member being adapted to receive the plate on one sideof the knives and to guide said plate in its feeding movement past theknives to the other side thereof, said feed roll engaging the plate andcontrolling its feeding movement, and means to rotate the feed roll at asurface speed less than the peripheral speed of the knives.

3. A meat-slitting machine comprising a frame, a set of rotary slittingknives rotatably mounted thereon, means to rotate the knives rapidly, ameat-supporting plate separable from the frame and adapted to supportthe slice of meat to be slit,

upper and lower feed rolls situated non-axially of the knives andadapted to engage the upper and lower faces of the plate at oppositeedges and by which the plate is fed from one side of the machine pastthe knives to the opposite side of the machine where it is discharged,and means to rotate the rolls with a slower surface speed than theperipheral speed of the knives, whereby'said rolls overcome any tendencyof the plate to be fed with a rapid motion due to the action of therapidly rotating knives on the meat and also operate to feed the plateforward at a slower speed than the peripheral speed of the knives,whereby said knives act on the meat with a draw out.

4. A meat-slitting machine comprising a frame, a set of rotary slittingknives carried thereby, means to rotate the knives rapidly, aplate-supporting member beneath the knives, a meat-supporting plateseparable from. said member and adapted to slide thereover from aposition entirely on one side of the knives, completely past the knives,to a position entirely on the other side of the knives and to bedischarged from said member, a stripper element for holding the meatagainst the plate as it is acted on by the knives,,

for holding the meat against the plate as it is actedupon by the knives,a feed roll having a friction surface situated to engage the under faceof the plate as it moves past the knives, a rela tively short idlepresser roll situated to engage 5 the upper face of the plate at eachedge and hold it in frictional contact with the feed roll, and means torotate the feed roll at a surface speed slower than the peripheral speedof the knives.

JOSEPH P. SPANG.

